A Hunters Life
by Shaladin
Summary: A story based on monster hunter by capcom. The story of a young hunter facing the creature that killed her father, and the great destiny that waits for her.
1. An end and a beginning

Disclaimer: I don't have any money, so don't sue.

This story is based on Monster Hunter by Capcom. It's a very addicting game and is on both PS2 and PSP. This chapter is mostly back story. Let me know what you think.

Dawn. The girl looked up at the newly risen sun and thought back once more on why she was here. She looked down at the blade in her hands, what had once been just a legendary blade was now known as the eternal strife. It was her father's sword and the only weapon she would use until her mission of revenge was complete. Her name is Opal.

Her father had trained her all her life to be a hunter, had prepared her for this moment, but would never see it. His fire had been extinguished by the very creature she now tracked her every waking moment. The wyvern scourge, rathalos. She was told the story of his demise by his most trusted hunting partner Jin.

Her father, Abel, had taken down many wyverns, but something was wrong with this one. It didn't react like it should have to a hunter. No roaring or charging. It had simply watched him and waited for him to strike. He had realized it wouldn't make a move and signaled to his partner to make the first strike.

He readied his bowgun and lined up the shot, hoping to pierce the beast from head to tail and end the fight quickly. But as he fired the shot he knew something was very wrong, it closed its eyes and collapsed to the ground as the shot flew over it, just barely grazing its back. Jin almost dropped his bowgun in surprise at the speed at which it had reacted, but Abel had charged in anyway. He swung his sword down across the beasts face, leaving a large gash behind its eye. Jin recovered and loaded another shot, not about to let some quick trick make him useless. He looked down for a second to cock the shot and when he looked up the beast was already on its feet and biting at Abel. He aimed lower, in case it tried to duck again, but only hit the leg when it dodged to the side.

The rathalos swung out with a wing unexpectedly, using the wing claws to try to impale Abel, but only succeeded in knocking him away, his shield landing far to his left. Jin fired again, determined to score a useful hit, and tore a large hole in the right wing, knocking off the largest claw on the other wing in the process. Abel scrambled to his feet and charged the wyvern, blade held in both hands, screaming at the top of his lungs as the rathalos lowered its head, smoke pouring from its maw. Jin yelled, trying to get him to stop, but Abel didn't hear him. He swung down, with all his strength on the beast's head, gouging a great tear across its right eye, half blinding it, but he was put off balance by the swing and the rathalos bit down on him as he stumbled. The beast had no mercy as it threw him to the ground and spun quickly to throw him across the clearing with its tail, then leaped at him again, digging its poison filled talons into him.

Jin had never seen anything so ruthless. He'd faced almost as many beasts as Abel, and never had he seen such savage ferocity. When the beast turned to him, he ducked down and ran to a small cave, and from there fired a dung shot into the beast's mouth. It backed up quickly, then let off a blast of fire and took to the air, leaving Jin alone in the clearing. He quickly went to his friend and tried to help him. Abel just shook his head and handed him the sword he had somehow held on to and told him gasping for breath to give it to his daughter and tell her he died with honor. Jin nodded and watched as his friend drew his last breath. He brought his friend home where he was given a warriors funeral, and told Opal all that transpired.

She had trained and fought against many wyverns and beasts since her father's death. She had become a hunter of legend, but never forgot how she got her weapon. Now she was on the hunt for the beast that had taken her father. She had heard it was located in the same area, and that all other hunters would steer clear of it, out of fear or respect she could never tell. But now she was strong enough to face it, face the demon that had changed her life forever.

This is only the beginning…


	2. Storm of memories

And now, part two. Enjoy.

Opal crouched under a bush, waiting near a large pool of water with deep furrows dug into the earth from large talons. Some hair, dark pink to the point of almost being purple, fell in front of her steel grey eyes, and was quickly brushed to the side by a mailed hand as she tucked it behind her ear. Bringing her hand back she paused as it lightly tapped the sword saint piercing in her ear, the knowledge it contained flowing through her with her every breath, the chinks in any armor or carapace evident upon first glance.

She smiled, knowing she was well prepared for this challenge. Her rage had lead her to confront the most vicious of wyverns, yian garuga, and from it she had crafted her armor, it's hatred for all living things flowing through it still and strengthening it. It was a right of passage for her, and a warning for others. Her hatred would not be sated until she had her revenge.

Now she would have it. The tracks were about two days old, the rathalos would be back for another drink sooner or later, and she had all the time in the world to wait. She had a BBQ spit and there was plenty to hunt for food nearby. Water of course was even easier to come by. When she had found this spot the night before she knew she was close.

As she looked up at the suddenly dark sky with hope, she was disappointed to see rain clouds preparing to release a deluge upon the area. She swore under her breath, but then was silently thankful, it would wash away her scent and any trace of her camp. She would be a little cold, and would have to protect her weapon from rust, but it was for the best if she wanted to make this kill.

She heard a clap of thunder deep in the clouds then saw the wall of rain quickly approaching. She braced herself as the wind buffeted her then gasped as the rain hit her, each drop like a piece of ice seeping into her armor. She quickly ducked her head and held her sheathed sword underneath her as the rain increased in volume and force. She began to shiver as the rain pelted her and was thankful for the sparse cover the bush provided.

It got dark quickly, the clouds blocking the sun and lightning became the only source of light in the gloom. Once again she swore under her breath, there was no sign of a storm this size earlier, this could ruin everything. She crawled out from under the bush, ducking down as a sudden gust of wind almost knocked her off her feet. She growled and quickly sprinted into the storm, her blade held close and her hair flying behind her, waving in the wind. Her ponytail bounced against her back when she stopped under a sheltered ledge, and she quickly pulled her hair back into order as the storm raged around her safe haven.

She brought her ponytail over her shoulder and squeezed some water out of it before throwing it back into place. Her bangs clung close to her face and she wiped them aside, trying to clear her field of vision. She took off her pack, thankful it was waterproof and grabbed some dried meat and sat down with her back against the ledge, chewing thoughtfully. The seasons were changing. Storms like this were becoming more and more common, but it still shouldn't have appeared so fast.

A bright flash of lightning and a deafening roar of thunder broke her out of her thoughts, the bush she had been under was now shattered and on fire, the thought of what might have happened worried her, but once again luck had been on her side. As it had been ever since when she was just a beginning hunter, she had run across a kirin and had let the beast go unharmed.

It had been a difficult choice, but she respected the creature too much to attack, and had put away her weapon and backed away from the magnificent beast. When she turned her back on it she heard thundering hoof beats come quickly towards her from behind, she had ducked down and covered her head as the kirin jumped over her and continued on for a few steps before turning to her, its red eyes watching her carefully, and a spark of electricity jumped across its glowing flank. She looked up at it, on one knee and realized how big it was, standing she would barely come up to its back, definitely a gold crown. She looked up at it, staring into its eyes.

The kirin frowned at her, narrowing its eyes and another spark ran across its mane and through its beard. "Why?" She jumped as the deep, resonating voice filled her head, and too shocked to answer she just stared. "Why didn't you attack? Answer me!"

She winced from the force of the voice in her head, and then quickly tried to explain herself. "I couldn't. It just didn't seem right. I'm only here to bring down a dangerous wyvern, a yian kut-ku, I have no reason to try to fight anything as majestic and strong as you, and I wouldn't stand a chance even if I wanted to fight you! I don't! I would rather be struck down here and now!" As she spoke, her voice started to crack, and the kirin walked slowly closer to her, she knew she was as good as dead. It could kill her without even trying, and she had practically told it to!

She closed her eyes, lowered her head and began to cry, now she would never be able to avenge her father, even if she survived its attack, she would never be able to hunt again. There was no way her velociprey armor would protect her enough to prevent serious injury. She heard it stop right in front of her as her tears fell to the dry leaves between her hands, the soft sound of their impacts muffled in the perpetual noise of the jungle. "Why do you cry?"

The voice was softer this time, but she knew it would want an answer, and soon. Taking a deep breath, she wiped her eyes and looked up, coming nose to nose with the kirin. Her eyes went wide and she tried to control her voice as she spoke. "Because I'm going to die before I can avenge my father's death." The kirin once again narrowed his eyes at her. "Why do you say that?" His voice sounded truly baffled by her response.

"You are going to kill me and I can't defend myself. Even if I survive, I'll be so injured I'll never be able to take down the rathalos that killed my father." She lowered her head again as she spoke, and as she finished she felt him snort. "Why should I attack you, you are no threat to me." A spark of hope welled up in her heart at these words. Maybe I'll survive this after all, she thought.

"In fact, you may become a great ally, if given enough time." She looked up, now on her hands and knees, confused by what it said. "What do you mean?" The kirin pawed the ground for a second, looking contemplative, and then looked at her. "You have a great destiny to fulfill, and your path and mine will cross many times, when they cross again I will explain further, but for now, that is all I can tell you, but I can give you a gift. If you keep it with you and trust your instincts, it will do the rest."

A spark of energy formed at the tip of his horn and formed into a necklace, a bluish purple glowing piece if kirin horn hanging point down in two loops of silver from a thin sliver chain. It settled on the tip of his horn and he lowered his head, placing it in her outstretched hand. "It's beautiful, but where did it come from? How did you do that? Where did this piece of horn come from?" She heard a deep chuckle in her mind. "So many questions, as I said, all will be explained when we meet again, and don't worry, I'll find you next time." With that, he turned and bounded off, quickly disappearing between the trees. Opal, not knowing what else to do, put on the necklace and continued with her mission. The fight was easier than she expected, she followed her instincts like the kirin had told her to and the yian kut-ku fell quickly to her blade.

It had been nearly two years since that day, and ever since, she never took the necklace off, she even wore it when she slept and bathed. It had saved her from many close calls, from kut-ku to gravios and beyond, she had faced them all, but she never accepted any quests to hunt kirin. She would not betray the trust he had put in her to be an ally. Not only did the necklace help her in the hunt, it would help her avoid danger and injury elsewhere, and she would have probably died long ago if it wasn't for that.

Snapping out of her memories she looked at the burned bush, the wind and rain had almost washed it away, leaving only a small stalk of the bush sticking out of the muddy ground. How long had she been unaware of her surroundings? It was impossible to tell in the storm. She looked around and found a nearby cave in the gloom, small enough to protect her from most monsters. She took some large rocks inside the cave and blocked most of the entrance, leaving enough open for air and light in the morning, then began to settle into the small cave. It wasn't very big, or deep, but it would work well and protect her while she slept. She wondered briefly if she would ever see the kirin again, but her mind drifted to his words, "I'll find you next time." She smiled, knowing they would meet again, and then drifted off to sleep.

So ends chapter two. I'm trying to make my stories longer, let me know if it affected my quality. Till next time!


	3. Revenge and Destiny

The darkness of the cave was invaded by a stray beam of sun and Opal awoke with a start. How long had she been out? Then from the other side of the rock pile she heard a deep rumbling growl.

Shit! She thought, I've been discovered! Quickly grabbing her sword and shield she quietly peeked out the small hole in the wall. Nothing. She didn't like this, it was too quiet, and the growl she heard earlier was too big for anything other than a wyvern. Her instincts were telling her to get ready to fight, something wasn't right.

As if in response to her doubts, a velocidrome ran past her hiding spot, eyes wider than normal and moving at top speed. It made its way towards the deep forest by the water, but a deafening roar accompanied by a fireball from above cut it off. The velocidrome was knocked back, singed, and as it began to struggle to its feet a massive rathalos crashed down upon it, crushing it into the ground with a pathetic screech.

The rathalos wasted no time in ripping the meal apart, swallowing large chunks of flesh from the pathetically small corpse. Opal stared at the carnage, she had seen kills before, she had made many herself, but this was different. It was more brutal and efficient than anything she had ever seen, she had only heard of one beast capable of such an attack, the one that had killed her father.

She reached for her pack, taking out a paintball, the specially designed orb a powerful ally during long fights, and took aim before launching it out the small hole and pegging the rathalos on its left leg. The rathalos turned quickly, looking around for the source of the impact on its leg, even checking beneath itself, then after finding everything the way it had been before the impact went back to its meal. But Opal had seen all she needed, the long scar over its right eye, and the broken wing claw.

This was the one. She smiled, revenge would soon be hers. But first she had to get out of this cave alive. The paintball's mental signature wouldn't wear off for a while, but if it went too far she wouldn't be able to track it down to kill it. If it found out she was in the cave she wouldn't stand a chance, so she would have to lay low for a while, and hope for the best.

Suddenly a gigantic bolt of lightning struck the ground near the large wyvern, causing him to back up, and then take flight. Opal looked to the sky as best she could, trying to watch the wyvern and noticed the sky was clear. She shook her head and looked again. Yes, the sky was clear. Where did the lightning come from?

She got her answer as a large kirin jumped down in front of the cave and turned to look at her. "I told you I'd find you next time." The voice resonated in her head, the deep voice bringing a smile to her face. "Now come out of there."

Opal cleared the entrance of the cave and walked out to the kirin, kneeling before it. "It's been a long time…" Her voice trailed off as she looked up at him, he was even bigger than last time. He lowered his head and nudged her gently. "Get up. There is no need to kneel. I see you have become a great hunter."

She stood slowly, looking into his deep red eyes. Then she looked down, shaking slightly. "That was the wyvern that killed my father." He looked at her thoughtfully, and then replied. "It was."

She lifted her head and said, "It's still nearby. I have to kill it." The kirin looked back, seeing the nervousness in her eyes. "But you don't think you can." She began shaking again, and he watched the tears slowly roll down her cheeks. "No, I don't. How can I survive against the monster that killed my father?"

The kirin slowly stepped forward, and then gently put his head over her shoulder. It tingled and her hair stood slightly on end, but she got the impression of a hug and slowly put her arms around his neck. His mane shocked her slightly when she first touched it but she didn't care as she cried in earnest into his large shoulder.

"I will help you." The words echoed through her entire body, giving her strength. "You will?" her voice cracked slightly as she spoke. "Yes." His chin pressed against her back lightly then released her as he backed up slightly getting her to let go. "I will help you take this wyvern down. Then, you are coming with me. The time has come."

She wiped the tears from her eyes, and then nodded solemnly. So the time of her destiny had arrived. She looked to the sky, then took out a map and pointed to a large open area on a cliff side, next to a mountain. "This is where he stopped. If were lucky we can make it before he leaves." The kirin nodded. "Gather your supplies, I can run faster than you, and will carry you there."

She looked up at him as he said this, shocked. "What? You carry me?" He looked at her again, nodding his head. "Yes. You will have to if you want to get there in time." She stared at him, still shocked, and then nodded. "You're right, let's go."

She threw her full pack over her shoulder and walked up next to him. He kneeled down, allowing her to carefully get on his back, flinching as his fur shocked her again. He looked over his shoulder at her and said, "Hold on tightly, I don't want you to fall." She cringed slightly and held on to his neck as he stood up, then with a powerful leap, left the area, the scorched and bloody ground the only signs of what had just transpired.

As they bounded through the forest leading to the ledge, she focused on the paintball, making sure the rathalos was still in the area. As they burst out into the open fields and cliffs she sensed that the wyvern had not yet moved, as if waiting for them. The kirin bounded up a shallow canyon between the walls of the mountain that loomed ahead, nimbly dodging small boulders that blocked their path. She gripped his neck tightly as he moved, scared of falling off at such speeds, and gave a yelp as he jumped over a particularly large boulder blocking their path.

Then she saw the area of the final showdown, a fairly large plateau, a single piece of the cliff splitting the roughly circular arena, sheer cliffs fell off two sides and rose from the rest, a few scraggly bushes and a small herb plant the only large vegetation. She knew this area well and had hunted here often; whither for eggs, a spoiled princess or to protect the village, this place had been the death or capture of many of his kind. A fitting end to a nightmare, she reminisced.

The kirin kneeled again, letting her slide off his back, shaking off the static and pulling out her sword and shield. She looked into his eyes for a minute, and then they both nodded, and then walked slowly, circling around the barrier between them and the rathalos. As she rounded the corner she saw the great beast, laying down, the scar on its eye and broken claw clearly visible, then it shifted and she saw the scar tissue on its right wing, right where the hole had been.

She narrowed her eyes, this was too easy. No way would it sleep out in the open like this. She looked over her shoulder at the kirin, he was suspicious too. She looked back at it, carefully watching its breathing, it was breathing in through its nose, waiting for their scent to come closer.

Opal grinned slightly and quietly rummaged through her pack, then pulled out a small object, a pepper bomb specially designed to knock out the sense of smell of almost any wyvern. She moved slowly, and then tossed the object close to the rathalos, where it exploded in a shower of dark red powder. The rathalos took a deep breath and opened its eye as its nose erupted in pain, then screamed in rage as some of the powder landed in its good eye, temporarily blinding it.

Opal and the kirin leapt from their hiding place, running quickly toward the beast as he tried to shake his head clear. She ran past the head and leapt for the tail, cutting deep into it as the kirin stood slightly back and dropped a lightning bolt on the wyvern as soon as she was clear. Roaring in rage the rathalos swung its injured tail to try to knock them away.

Opal ducked under the tail and held her sword up on instinct, using the wyverns own strength to cut through the rest of it's tail, sending the tail tip flying across the area before flopping for a second and lying still. The rathalos lost its balance when it's tail was cut off and fell forward, crashing into the ground with a loud crash and an even louder roar of pain.

The kirin launched another bolt of lightning at the wyvern as he tried to get up, causing him to convulse and collapse again, roaring loudly. Opal ran forward and slashed across the wyvern's wing, tearing all the webbing and making flight impossible. The rathalos retaliated by throwing it's wing back, tossing her across the arena and almost off a cliff.

She dug her weapon into the ground and gritted her teeth as she felt her feet slip over the edge as she stopped. She looked up to see the wyvern rearing its head for a fireball. She rolled to the side and just barely dodged the blast, and then scrambled to her feet and charged forward again as the kirin charged the wyvern and tore through the wyvern's other wing with its horn.

The rathalos roared in rage and tried to bite the kirin only to get struck by a bolt of lightning, then opal leapt at the rathalos and brought the sword down upon its good eye, feeling the sword grind against bone and seeing small black sparks moving along the blade. The rathalos screamed in pain and threw its head back, causing her blade to barely miss its eye.

Opal dodged to the side and swung her sword up as the wyvern tried to bite her and broke a spike off its head. She dodged to the other side as it attacked again and it roared in pain as another bolt of lightning struck it, paralyzing it. Opal leapt for the dragons head again, this time cutting across the eye and tearing it out before being knocked away as the wyvern thrashed in pain.

As Opal crawled to her feet she looked up at the wyvern thrashing blindly before her, she knew it would be suicide to get within striking distance, but she had to kill it. She reached solemnly into her pack and pulled out a half dozen blue handled throwing knives, being sure not to prick herself and took aim at the thrashing wyvern. The first three knives hit quickly in its chest, the fourth in its leg and the last two she put back in her bag as the wyvern began to collapse, the drug on the knives taking effect.

She beckoned the kirin to back away as she solemnly walked up to the sleeping wyvern. She looked down at the beast that had caused her so much pain, had taken away her father, and now lay helpless at her feet. She looked down at the throbbing vein in its neck and slowly raised her sword.

Her face an emotionless mask, she struck, cutting through the wyvern's neck in one stroke. It gave a shocked, gurgling gasp, then lay still. She took out a special device and notified the guild the wyvern was dead and placed it on the dead body as a becon. A single tear ran down her cheek as she thought of her father and the beast before her, and then she began to clean her blade on the grass before sheathing it and looking to the kirin. He nodded then slowly approached her.

"Are you ready to go?" His deep voice resonated through her and she nodded, then looked up at him. "Where are we going?" His voice contained a hint of amusement as he replied, "Why, to fulfill our destinies of course!"


End file.
